I’ve been spending a lot of time getting ready for an upcoming backpacking trip with my mum, so I thought that I would share one of the treats I have made for us to munch on – gluten free energy bars. These no bake bars are super easy to make and don’t require a dehydrator. (Making 6 dehydrated meals is a lot of work – no wonder the packaged food is so expensive!) They are also very adaptable to your tastes as you can change what type of nut butter, nuts, cereal and dried fruit you use.

These bars are based on a few recipes from the backpacking cookbook “A fork in the Trail.” If you do a lot of hiking, canoeing, etc. and want to try some (hopefully) more appetizing meals, I do recommend this book. Plus, if you have a lot of allergies, many of the recipes can be tweaked to make them gluten, dairy, soy and egg free. 🙂

Gluten Free Energy Bars

1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar – can be left out as the bar is quite sweet without it
1/3 c. almond butter
1/2 c. cashews, chopped
2 c. mesa sunrise cereal, crushed
1/4 c. each of raisins and soy free dried cranberriesOptional: 1/2 c. chocolate chips – I’m trying to avoid eating chocolate, so I left it out

Chop the cashews, crush the Mesa Sunrise and measure out the dried fruit and put in a bowl. Set aside.

Grease a 8 x 8″ pan with some vegetable oil. Set aside.

Heat the honey and brown sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. Let it simmer for about 1 minute (too long can make the bars brittle – how sugar acts at different heats and all that) and remove from the heat.

Add in the almond butter and stir until combined.

Dump in the dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.

Spoon into the pan and use a spatula to evenly pack the bars.

Place in freezer for 30 minutes.

Remove from freezer and allow to come to room temperature.

Use a butter knife to cut into bars. I cut them into 12 bars, but you can cut them into any size you want.

Wrap in wax paper and freeze (up to 3 months) until you use them.

Enjoy!

Do you do a lot of hiking? What’s your favourite thing to eat on the trail?

I try to eat fairly healthily while I am hiking – so lots of dried fruits and nuts. I used to take a fair amount of Reeses pieces and chocolate things, but I’m trying to cut back on sugar and chocolate, so I am not taking any on this trip. I did find some maple syrup covered nuts and they are sooo good, so that’ll have to do in terms of sugar intake. 😉